Back to the Future 10: Continuum Conundrum Part 5
Back to the Future #10: Continuum Conundrum Part 5 was the tenth issue of the ''Back to the Future'' comic series by IDW Publishing. Publisher's Summary DOC'S STORY! Is he a man out of time? A visitor from another reality? An alien? A robot? Eighteen hyper-intelligent hamsters in a rubber human suit? Well, definitely not the last one-but the mystery of memoryless Doc Brown is solved... just in time for things to really get exciting. Plot On September 16, 2035, Officer Griff Tannen is outside Doc Brown's secret lab. He recognizes that Marty is a McFly based on his artificially heightened sense of smell. As Griff tries to use the tactical flame device to burn down the lab, the Hill Valley Police Department turns it off remotely, as he does not have authorization to use it. He is told to wait for Commissioner Wilson to arrive. However, he disobeys orders and a shock is sent through his bionic implants, temporarily disabling him. Griff is reaching for his badge, to unlock the restraints placed on him. As he is doing this, Doc tells Marty everything about how they got into their current situation. On August 13, 1893, Doc leaves his family in the steam time car, intending to return mere seconds after he left. As he doesn't know what his family said once he left, he imagines that they were talking about his brilliance. Doc arrives on September 16, 2035 rather than in 2015 as he intended. He accidentally hits a pedestrian, and he bounces safely away. Doc notes that the future is safer than he remembered, As he walks around Hill Valley, Doc realizes he arrived 20 years later than he intended. He goes to his second lab to pick up his clothes, which although 20 years out of date, are better than 19th century clothing. While there, he finds Marty's letter, and is confused, since he's not in trouble. He goes to the bank to get a comic from the safety deposit box, using the alias of "Leroy Brown" that he set up in 2015. However the DNA scan shows that he is only eight years older, rather than twenty. The bank teller believes that he is a cheap clone, and calls the police. Doc is arrested by Griff Tannen, who has had behavioral modifications installed and is now a police officer. Doc tries to bribe Griff, and although he turns down the bribe, the Hill Valley Police Department accesses his connection. They tell him that he has been warned on three previous occassions not to take bribes, and send an electric shock into his bionic implants to disable him. This allows Doc to escape, which he does by running into a pedestrian and then holding on once he bounces away. A woman recognizes his picture from the police pictures being broadcast on the video billboards and hoverbillboards. She spray tags him so that he would show up on police scans. Doc runs away, takes off his clothes, and puts on the diving suit. He gets in the steam time car, and intends to travel back to 2015 when he knows his alias would work. Griff shoots an electric charge at Doc, intending to disable his implants. However, as Doc doesn't have any, he suffers amnesia. Confused, Doc reaches into his pocket and pulls out Marty's letter. Not knowing what else to do, he drives the steam time car to 1986, at the time and place mentioned in the note. He arrived in what he now knows was March 3, 1986, however, at first he was only acting on instinct, as he could not even speak. Once he met Marty and Jennifer Parker in his secret lab, he slowly started regaining his memory, but it had not been fully restored until he hit his head in 2035. As Doc finishes his story, Griff Tannen manages to reach his badge to disable the override of his bionic implants. Doc noticed that the gliderboard they were riding was broken, as Griff comes in, holding the tactical flame device, and leaving Doc and Marty with no means to escape. Dramatis Personae Individuals * Marty McFly * Jennifer Parker * Emmett Brown * Griff Tannen * Commissioner Wilson * Bank teller * Spray tagger Dates *August 13, 1893 *March 3, 1986 *2015 *September 16, 2035 Locations *Lone Pine Fli-Drome *Bistro Twenty/15 *Doc's secret lab Organizations *Infinicar *Duper *Flifast Technology *Diving suit *Hover conversion *Advertisement drones *Connection *Video billboard *Gliderboard *Spray tag *Computerized badge Weapons *Tactical flame device Doc's inventions *Steam time car Miscellanea *Zazz *Sage *The fifties *Fli-derb *Bounce *Marty's letter (March 1986) Behind the scenes *One cover for this issue featured ROM from Rom Spaceknight flying past the DeLorean, which served to reference IDW's recent reboot of that series. Other IDW releases from that month had similar cameos from ROM. Category: Comic stories